Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
929,947 games: White 49.1% / Draw 7.6% / Black 43.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional Line | 635,655636K | |
| Nimzowitsch Variation | 249,727250K | |
| 28,08828K | ||
| 4,6434,643 | ||
| 4,1484,148 | ||
| 2,8762,876 | ||
| 2,0312,031 | ||
| 971971 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.21 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O d5 9. cxd5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 57% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 7,649 | |
| 1400–1799 | 76K | |
| 1800–2199 | 475K | |
| 2200 and up | 398K | |
| Masters, over the board | 35K |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Karjakin, S.
- Nakamura, H. – Carlsen, M.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation (ECO E15, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 (4 moves).
In 929,947 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.1%, Black 43.3% and 7.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Bb7, in 68% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Traditional Line and Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation. In all, 26 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation
4…Ba6 (Nimzowitsch Variation) scores best for Black: 50.3%, with Black winning 46.4% and White 45.8% of 250K games. The most played answer, 4…Bb7, scores lowest: 45.8% in 636K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…Ba6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.051% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.037% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.037% | 13,229 |
| 2017 | 0.043% | 23,636 |
| 2018 | 0.051% | 40,071 |
| 2019 | 0.045% | 55,633 |
| 2020 | 0.039% | 113,886 |
| 2021 | 0.031% | 120,848 |
| 2022 | 0.033% | 122,166 |
| 2023 | 0.034% | 129,281 |
| 2024 | 0.035% | 124,464 |
| 2025 | 0.037% | 128,069 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.038% | 42,006 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (2)
All 26 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- E15 Nimzowitsch Variation 4 moves
- E15 Traditional Line 4 moves
- E16 Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation 5 moves
- E15 Nimzowitsch Attack 5 moves
- E15 Quiet Line 5 moves
- E15 Timman's Line 5 moves
- E15 Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Sämisch Variation 5 moves
- E17 Queen's Indian Defense: Traditional Variation 5 moves
- E11 Bogo-Indian Defense: Monticelli Trap 10 moves
- E17 Queen's Indian Defense: Anti-Queen's Indian System 6 moves
- E15 Queen's Indian Defense: Buerger Variation 7 moves
- E17 Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation 6 moves
- E15 Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation 5 moves
- E15 Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Rubinstein Variation 7 moves
- E16 Queen's Indian Defense: Riumin Variation 6 moves
- E17 Polugaevsky Gambit 8 moves
- E17 Taimanov Gambit 8 moves
- E18 Traditional Variation 7 moves
- E17 Queen's Indian Defense: Euwe Variation 7 moves
- E15 Intermezzo Line 6 moves
- E15 Modern Line 6 moves
- E17 Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Kramnik Variation 7 moves
- E17 Queen's Indian Defense: Opocensky Variation 7 moves
- E18 Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Tiviakov Defense 7 moves
- E19 Main Line 9 moves
- E18 Nimzowitsch Line 7 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation (E15)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation